São Paulo – From October 4th to 8th, the Arab House in Madrid will promote the event cycle “Arabs in Brazil,” including an entrepreneurial forum, music concerts, photography exhibitions and film screenings on the matter.
On Monday (4th), the “Spain-Brazil-Arab Countries Triangulation Entrepreneurial Forum” will take place, featuring the secretary general of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, Michel Alaby.
“I will discuss matters such as trade between Brazil and the Arab world and the influence of Arabs on important sectors of the country, such as cuisine, medicine, literature etc,” says Alaby. He is going to show a copy of the Koran translated into Portuguese by the vice president of International Relations of the Arab Brazilian Chamber, Helmi Nasr, the translation into Arabic of ”New World in the Tropics, ” by Gilberto Freyre, and the Arabic-Portuguese dicutionary, both of which are also works by Nasr, a retired professor at the University of São Paulo (USP).
The data that will be shown at the presentation include the fact that there are million Arabs and descendents in Brazil, including ministers and National Congress representatives of Arab descent, as well as members of important healthcare organizations.
The event cycle counts on support from the Brazil-Spain Chamber of Commerce and will be attended by representatives of other Brazilian organizations, such as the Institute of Arab Culture (Icarabe) and USP.
Other attractions at the cycle will include music performances by the Brazilian Lívio Tragternberg and the Lebanese Tarek Atoui, as well as screenings of Brazilian films that have Arabs as their main subject, such as “Lavoura Arcaica” and “Que seus olhos sejam atendidos.”
Closer ties with Brazil
Event cycle “Arabs in Brazil” is part of a multidisciplinary program of Festival VivAmérica, promoted by Spanish cultural organization Casa de América (House of America).
With the lectures and screenings, the Arab House wants to explore new commercial, literary and cinematographic ties pertaining to the retrieval of Arab memory in the Brazilian imagery.
The seminar that Michel Alaby will participate in will also feature Claudio Garón, the head of the commercial office at the Brazilian embassy in Spain. Afterwards, a meeting will bring together Alexandre Bolson, lawyer and Brazil-Spain Chamber of Commerce member, and Izabel Ariza, international director of the Volconsa construction group, based in Spain, which operates in Brazil and in the Arab world.
Michel Sleiman, president of the Icarabe, is going to attend a roundtable on the 5th, to discuss the role of Arab entrepreneurs in Brazil, based on the figure of the street vendor.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
